Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

News

Ann Romney Proudly Stands Up For Rich Housewives

Jen Chung

Published Apr 12, 2012

Modified Apr 12, 2012

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Never miss a story

Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

The Romneys

Jen Chung

Published Apr 12, 2012

Modified Apr 12, 2012

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Yesterday, Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen criticized First Lady hopeful Ann Romney, saying Romney "actually never worked a day in her life." Romney, noted Pinterest Pinner, then joined Twitter to respond, "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work." You try raising a family of five on a shoestring because your deadbeat husband only brings home $374,000 in speaker's fees.

Rosen's remarks were quickly disavowed by President Obama's advisers Jim Messina ("I could not disagree with Hilary Rosen any more strongly. Her comments were wrong and family should be off limits. She should apologize.") and David Axelrod ("Also Disappointed in Hilary Rosen's comments about Ann Romney. They were inappropriate and offensive.") Here's what Rosen, a lesbian mother of two who works at PR firm and is a CNN contributor, said about the apparent "war on women" from the GOP on AC 360:

What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country saying, well, you know, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues. And when I listen to my wife, that's what I'm hearing.

Guess what, his wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school and how do we -- why do we worry about their future?

So I think it's—yes, it's about these positions and, yes, I think there will be a war of words about the positions, but there's something much more fundamental about Mitt Romney. He seems so old- fashioned when it comes to women.

Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom Tweeted, "Obama adviser Hilary Rosen goes on #CNN to debut their new 'kill Ann' strategy, and in the process insults hard-working moms," prompting Jezebel to write, "First of all, Hilary Rosen does not work for Obama. She's a CNN pundit and she works in PR, period. Full stop. So don't pull that shit. And nobody is trying to kill Ann, metaphorically or otherwise, or to suggest that moms don't work hard. But way to throw a cheap tweet in the mix to distract from the fact that your candidate is so bad on women's issues that he's pretty much dead in the water already with women voters."

Of course Fox News is loving the issue, putting Romney's family photograph with the words "5 Kids, 16 Grandkids, Dem Adviser Charges Ann Romney Has "Never Worked A Day In Her Life." and even has a link to details about how much stay-at-home mothers are worth. Ann Romney appeared on Fox News, saying, "Look, I know what it's like to struggle and if maybe I haven't struggled as much financially as much as some people have, I can tell you and promise you that I've had struggles in my life. ... Mitt and I have compassion for people that are struggling and that's why we're running. We care about people that are struggling." Except when they work for Ampad.

Ironically, Ann Romney also said, "We need to respect choices that women make," which is something her husband doesn't seem to want to do, like other Republicans. Rosen responded on Twitter, with a post on CNN ("I admire women who can stay home and raise their kids full time. I even envy them sometimes. It is a wonderful luxury to have the choice. But let’s stipulate that it is NOT a choice that most women have in America today") and then with a statement from her firm, "I apologize to Ann Romney and anyone else who was offended. Let’s declare peace in this phony war and go back to focus on the substance." She also said on CNN, "This is not about Ann Romney. This is about the waitress at a diner someplace in Nevada who has two kids whose day-care funding is being cut off because of the Romney-Ryan budget and she doesn’t know what to do."

First Lady Michelle Obama, who worked as a lawyer and has had positions with the Chicago city government, University of Chicago, and University of Chicago Hospitals, Tweeted today, "Every mother works hard, and every woman deserves to be respected."

Some things we've learned about Ann Romney: Raising five sons was tough, she rides Austrian warmbloods, she's getting ready for a bigger house in LaJolla, and she and Mitt only paid a 13.9% tax rate in 2010.

Tagged

ann romney

election 2012

hilary rosen

housewife

lesbian

mitt romney

stay at home mom

war on women

Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

MORE news

Judge temporarily halts overnight construction at NYC’s Chinatown jail

The order comes after Chinatown residents sued the city over noise, health concerns and years of planned after-hours construction.

Giulia Heyward

Published Oct 26, 2026 at 7:08 p.m. ET

Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools

A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.

Elizabeth Kim

News

Pressure grows on Mamdani to reform admissions to NYC specialized high schools

A former top-school official will join councilmembers and other prominent educators at an event focused on specialized high schools.

Elizabeth Kim

Police search for man in Central Park sexual assault

Charles Lane

Rockefeller Center's 2026 Christmas tree is a 76-foot spruce from Upstate New York

Giulia Heyward

‘A killer cop lives here’: Brooklyn arrests raise questions about limits of free speech

Ben Feuerherd

Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .